TAU versus Dark Eldar

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Secure and control
Level: Omega
1st turn: Dark Eldar
Points: 1500
Location: Nomolos, Sub Sector 6, Skolarii sector
Background: The following is an anecdotal account of an engagement between those Xenos aliens Tau and Dark Eldar. It was reported to rogue trader Cortez during his lengthy negotiations with a Tau member of the water caste, upon the hell-hole that is Mangalore. If this story is true then Tau have indeed infiltrated into the Skolarii sector and the Inquisition must be contacted at once. What is certain is that Imperial shipping has been disrupted in sub sector six and a number of ships have gone missing in recent months. Perhaps these Dark Eldar are involved. Navy commanders must be alerted.

The Tau mining world of Nomolos, in sub sector 6 of the Skolarii sector, has been subject to piratical attacks from Dark Eldar raiders. Supply convoys have been harassed to such an extent that less than 25% of all ships sent get through to Nomolos. Although regular sorties were made the Eldar specialised in hit and run tactics and were never caught in action. The Tau needed to stop the Dark Eldar at source and find their hidden base.

In despair, and to protect the lives of his starving workers, Colony Commander Varn'ko lured the Dark Eldar fleet into a trap. The Dark Eldar bit and attacked the lone ship, quickly overcoming its drone crew and fleeing back to their hidden base with their booty. Tracking devices had been secreted within the ship however, and a messenger drone escaped from the Dark Eldar base carrying vital co-ordinates. Eventually the drone made planetfall on Nomolos and Varn'ko led his cadre to recover it. But as they arrived the Dark Eldar suddenly appeared.

The hunter had become the hunted.

Tau

• Shas’O’Tau’Ko’Vash’Varn'ko
• Shas’O with plasma rifle, fusion blaster, shield generator, hard-wired multi tracker, Shas’Vre with plasma rifle, missile pod, multitracker, bonded
• Aun’El’Tau’M’yen - Ethereal
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Ho’Lu’Demlock - 2 Crisis battlesuits, bonded, Shas’ui with plasma rifle, missile pod and multitracker, Shas’ui with flamer, missile pod, target lock
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Ho’Lu’Vemlock - Shas’ui with twin-linked plasma rifle, missile pod
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Kais’Mal’Coar - 5 stealthsuits, bonded
• Shas’La’Tau’Han’Dan - 10 Fire warriors, all with pulse rifles, bonded, Shas’ui with markerlight and hard-wired blacksun filter
• Shas’La’Tau’Mont’Yr - 12 Fire warriors, all with pulse rifles,bonded, Shas'ui with markerlight
• Murabla - 16 Kroot, Shaper
• Shas’La’Tau’Tam’La’Mo’Town - 6 Pathfinders, photon grenades, bonded, Devilfish with decoy launchers and two seeker missiles
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Yu’Rang - 2 Broadside battlesuits, bonded, Shas’Ui with twin linked railguns, smart missile system and shield generator, Shas’Ui with twin linked railguns, smart missile system and target lock
• Kaikown - Krootox
• Shas’La’Tau’Or’Es’Mont’Ka - Railgun, smart missile system, multitracker, blacksun filter, decoy launchers, seeker missile

Dark Eldar

• Archon with shadow field, agoniser, splinter pistol, hell mask, combat drugs, 6 incubi, master, raider
• 14 wyches, 2 shredders, wych weapons, succubus with agoniser
• 9 wyches, 2 blasters, wych weapons, succubus with agoniser
• 5 mandrakes
• 10 warriors, 2 dark lances
• 10 warriors, 2 dark lances
• 10 warriors, 2 splinter cannons
• 5 reaver jetbikes, succubus with poisoned blades
• 1 ravager with 1 dark lance, 2 disintegrators, night shield
• Talos
  

Deployment and terrain

Six possible locations had been designated for the messenger drone, spread across the entire battlefield

The Dark Eldar warriors spring the trap. The two units with dark lances set up in each corner to create a deadly crossfire in the centre of the battlefield, while the squad with splinter cannons are ready to dash for the marker on the hill

The view from the other flank. Note the single purple figures. These are the enigmatic mandrakes, sneaking toward the Tau lines.

Meanwhile the Tau deploy in force in the centre with two squads of Fire Warriors on foot and a large unit of Kroot. In the foreground is the Devilfish containing a small Pathfinder squad.


The Pathfinders skim forward, before the game proper, toward a possible drone crash site.

Turn 1

Dark lances train on the Pathfinders Devilfish but they cannot shoot it from the sky


The Devilfish emerges unscathed from the Warrior firing

Turn 2

The first reserves arrive for the Dark Eldar in the shape of Reaver jetbikes. They use the cover of the rock formations well to avoid Tau shooting. In the centre the Warrior squad has uncovered one possible crash site and finding nothing they push forward into weapon range.

On the other flank a Warrior squad looks on as the Archon, and Incubi swoop in on their Raider. They find the drone immediately. Game on! The Talos has also arrived and drifts up behind the Warrior squad to the top right.

The view from the Dark Eldar lines. The mandrake continues its stealthy advance forward.

The Pathfinders have bailed out of their Devilfish after it was smashed out of the sky by dark lances. They race for the cover of the stream.

In the centre the Kroot enter the clinger vines, wary of the Warrior squad ahead. Shaper Murabla has encountered splinter cannons before and knows to give them proper respect. The nose of the lead reaver jetbike is visible, poking out from the rock on the left.

Turn 3

The Archon and retinue have had their Raider destroyed but retain control of the objective. The Archon lost her shadow field as she leapt clear of the wreckage. The Talos continues its advance alongside the warp beast pack which have just raced onto the battlefield. Wyches are just visible beyond them (top left).


The jetbikes break from cover to engage the Fire Warrior squad, peppering them with splinter rifle fire


The Dark Eldar mount a formidable defence. The Mandrakes are revealed and shield the Incubi squad from incoming fire, while the Archon and squad retreat toward safety. Another Wych squad displays their fleet of foot and race toward the drone. At a more stately pace the Ravager moves onto the battlefield to provide covering fire.


Contact! The jetbikes slice the Fire Warriors up in the assault while the Broadside team move onto the field of battle. Will they be next?

Turn 4

A Fire Warrior's eye view of the action. How can they prevail against such a well co-ordinated defence of the objective. Note the Warrior squad with splinter cannons to the right. They have already decimated one Fire Warrior squad and now turn their attention to the Kroot. The Kroot too are ripped apart and fall back under the hail of splinters.


Against all the odds the Fire Warriors fight off the Reaver assault (the jetbikes failed a moral high ground roll and the subsequent morale check). The Reavers fall back toward their own lines.


The Stealth team had advanced down the extreme right flank in the cover of a refinery building. They finally break cover and gun down a large Wych squad, reducing it to a quarter of its original size. The Hammerhead had moved up between the storage towers and targeted the Warrior squad with bright lances, smashing them apart with its sub munitions round. The shattered survivors fall back off the table. With a sizeable chunk of the Dark Eldar army destroyed maybe the Tau have a chance.


The Talos watches as the Tau Crisis suits jet toward the Dark Eldar. The Warp beasts are driven on to hold up the Tau advance. The Ravager has been shot down by the Tau Broadside team.

Turn 5

The Stealth team were assaulted by the remaining Wyches and won through, killing them all. They made a 15" sweeping advance that took them into the heart of the Dark Eldar position.


While the Reavers continue to fall back the Dark Eldar consolidate their position. The Wyches hold the centre along with the two survivors of the splinter cannon Warrior squad. The Archon and retinue (in white armour) can just be made out behind a rocky outcrop. The only worry for the Dark Eldar is the Stealth Team in their midst, but surely the Talos should be able to finish them off?


The Warp beasts finish off one Crisis suit team in assault and then sweep into the remaining team, Shas'o and all.


The Hammerhead angles for a shot at the Talos. Even with help from the Broadside team they could only wound it once. The Stealth Team ahead moved up into point blank range of the Archon and retinue and unloaded everything they had into them. When the dust cleared only one Incubi lay dead. Had the Tau blown it?

Turn 6

In the foreground a lone battlesuit picks off a single Incubi visible near the rock formation. The Talos had charged the Stealth Team, killing four and driving the last man off. Note the two splinter cannon Warriors who survived a sub munitions blast from the Hammerhead on the last turn!

Victory! The Archon has the objective well under control and so the whereabouts of the Dark Eldar pirate base is safe.

Result: Loss

Aftermath
So the Dark Eldar are victorious and the position of their hidden base remains a mystery to the Tau. Tau supply convoys into Nomolos continue to be disrupted and the future of the mining colony itself is threatened.

Learning points

• This sort of smash and grab raid suited the Dark Eldar down to the ground. They won the rolls to choose board edge and starting turn and made the right decision in both. Their supporting units such as the Warrior squads with bright lances and the Ravager had commanding fields of fire and they denied such positions for the Tau. Taking the first turn meant that the Eldar got reserves before the Tau, and using their famous speed they quickly uncovered three markers and discovered the messenger drone. Their incredible speed, through jet bikes and fleet of foot, also allowed the Dark Eldar to quickly redeploy their forces into the area where the drone was found. Of course, landing an awesome close combat unit in the Archon with Incubi squad on the objective helped too!
• Still, the Tau can inflict heavy damage at a distance and many of their troops could move up to 12" per turn, so the Dark Eldar could not afford to be too bullish. Sensibly the Archon retreated with her prize and used the units of mandrakes, wyches, jet bikes and warp beasts to absorb incoming fire and to disrupt the Tau advance. Men of the match in this regard were the ten man warrior squad with two splinter cannons. They advanced into the centre of the Tau army, took out half of a twelve man fire warrior squad then caused so many casualties on the kroot that they routed! They then survived a battering from the Tau in the shooting phase but passed all of their morale checks and laid down another barrage of splinter shots into a crisis suit unit, softening them up for the warp beasts to finish them off. Finally they survived a point blank shot from a railgun sub munitions shot! All this from a 100 point(ish) unit.
• The Tau are always at a disadvantage when the mission involves a lot of movement, especially when the Dark Eldar are the opposition. In this rescue mission the Tau were hoping to get the objective first and force the Eldar to come to come to them. But it was not to be and the Tau faced a stiff fight to catch the speedy foe. The Tau lost a lot of shooting effectiveness in trying to move up to the Eldar lines and were harried relentlessly by spoiling attacks from the likes of warp beasts and jet bikes. The only real ray of hope for the Tau were the Stealth suits who advanced on the far flank of the battlefield, safe from enemy fire, and suddenly emerged to all but wipe out a large wych squad. They finished the job in the Dark Eldar assault phase and then swept 15" forward, moved a further 6" in their own movement phase and had the Archon and Incubi in their sights. Their luck only ran out when they only killed a single enemy and were destroyed in turn by the Talos.
• In the end the stealth team and the Hammerhead were the only Tau units to get into the Dark Eldar lines and this seriously hampered their efforts to recapture the messenger drone. The Tau should have been more ruthless in advancing forward, taking the inevitable casualties, and hoping that an extra two or three models could have swung it for them in the last turn. Perhaps a unit of fire warriors in a devilfish would have been effective in this scenario.
• All in all though, a very enjoyable battle, hard fought and very bloody. We haven't seen the last of these Dark Eldar I wager...

CHAOS SPACE MARINES versus Dark Eldar

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Seek and Destroy
Level: Omega
1st turn: Chaos Space Marines
Points: 2000
Location: Windar, Halasus Marches, Skolarii sector
Background: Constant Dark Eldar raids upon Imperial shipping around Windar come to the attention of the Exigators renegade Space Marine chapter. They bring a large part of the Blue Storm Kabal to battle on the planet's surface and kill both enemy leaders, thus securing the space lanes for a full ten years.


Exigators Chaos Space Marines

• Chaos Lord Ferocitor, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Daemonic Stature, Daemonic Strength, Daemonic Speed, Daemonic Resilience, Daemonic Strength, Daemonic Visage, Daemonic Aura, Dark Blade, Bionics, Close combat weapon, Frag grenades, Personal Icon, Spiky Bits, Furious Charge
• 2 Obliterators
• Squad Surculus, 5 Possessed Marines with Daemonic Talons
• Squad Hotep, 9 Thousand Sons with Bolt guns, Sorceror with Power Weapon and Gift of Chaos
• Squad Infractis, 10 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt pistols and Close combat weapons, 2 Plasma Pistols, Aspiring Champion with Power fist
• Squad Profuge, 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt guns, Plasma gun, Lascannon
• Squad Abraxar, 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Bolt guns, Missile Launcher, Plasma gun, Infiltrate
• Squad Krall, 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Bolt guns, Autocannon, Infiltrate
• 8 Furies
• 5 Raptors, Furious Charge, Flamer, Aspiring Champion with Power Weapon and Daemonic Strength
• Squad Imber, 6 Havocs, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt guns, 4 Heavy Bolters
• Torius, Predator with Twin-linked Lascannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons
• Atrocitor, Dreadnought with Twin-linked Lascannon
  

Dark Eldar

• Tooled up Archon with Incubi retinue in Raider
• Drachon carrying Webway portal
• Haemonculus leading 9 Grotesques in Raider
• 5 Jetbikes
• 4 Warpbeasts
• Talos
• Ravager
• 12 Wyches
• 10 Warriors with 2 Dark lances
• 10 Warriors with 2 Dark lances
• 10 Warriors with 2 Splinter cannons with Sybarite carrying Webway portal
• 6 Mandrakes
• 10 Scourges with 4 Splinter cannons

Background
Having played piddly 1000 point army lists in 10 or so games (before and during The Gauntlet tournament) Gary and I were keen to fight a larger engagement. Gary took the opportunity to switch from his Slaanesh Chaos list to the Dark Eldar. In particular he wanted to experiment with webway portals as the 4th edition vehicle rules had made Raiders death traps.

I had to seriously massage my Chaos list to reach 2000 points. I tricked out my Lord to a true Daemon Prince, weighing in at a hefty 208 points. My Dreadnought and Predator got Daemonically possessed, and I managed to finally play my Raptors as well as my Thousand Sons unit. As these additions were mainly to meet the points requirement, and not to improve the killing potential of my army, I figured I was in for a tough game.

Terrain and Deployment
We set up the table with a lot of cover, partially to help Gary's fragile Dark Eldar and partly in response to our last few games on the bare tables of Warhammer World.

I had a dense concentration of jungle on my left flank which we classified area 2 terrain, the central portion of the board had tons of ruined buildings, mostly area 2 but with one large area 3 ruin in the dead centre of the table and the right was comparatively bare, with just a few small jungle pieces.

Gary began the game with the majority of his army off the table due to escalation and the webway portals. He began with the Drachon with a portal joining a Warrior squad on my right, a Warrior squad set up centrally, and the last Warrior squad with the second portal on my left.

I tasked my Thousand Sons to hold my left flank, amongst the dense jungles. My infantry squads formed a loose skirmish line right across the board, with Squad Infractis and the possessed behind the large building in the middle, and the Obliterators on my right centre.

The Game
I won first turn and pushed Squad Infractis forward in the middle, and Squad Hotep trudged through the undergrowth on my left. Some lucky rolls meant I caused a couple of casualties on the Warrior squad with the portal on the left. Gary withdrew the squad but the Thousand Sons had the angle to shoot around the ruins and the squad was further whittled down. Worried about losing the rest of the squad and the portal with them Gary pulled the Warriors back even further, so I had effectively neutralised his attack on my left.

On my right, the Dark Eldar were faring no better. Gary pushed the Warriors and Drachon over the open ground towards my line squads but I unleashed a torrent of fire at them, killing everyone but the Dark Eldar HQ.

On the second turn my reserves began to arrive and my Dreadnought had a clear line of sight to the Drachon. One twin-linked lascannon shot later and I had denied the threat of the webway portals completely.

Gary's own reserves came on in drips and drabs, allowing me to destroy them in turn. The Reavers zoomed up my right but my bolt guns cared little for their invulnerable saves and they were shot from the sky. I had brought the Predator onto this flank too, and I rained cross table shots into the Dark Eldar centre with impunity.

Back on the right, Gary introduced the Ravager in order to attack the Thousand Sons, but the jungles gave me some useful invulnerable saves and I eventually dropped the skimmer. I pulled Squad Hotep back to preserve victory points and secure the flank.

That left a furious fight for the centre as Squad Infractis pushed forward, supported by Squad Surculus. A lucky bolt pistol shot destroyed the Archon's Raider which left them pinned for a crucial turn. From turn 3 onwards a sprawling combat ensued including the Wyches, Haemonculus, Grotesques, Archon, Incubi and Warp beasts versus Squad Infractis, Squad Surculus and Ferocitor. Although the Dark Eldar eventually triumphed I had pretty much obliterated the entire army in the process and it was just a case of mopping up after that.

The final stages had the Scourges and Raptors show up out of reserve, but playing little part in the game. This was a comfortable win for my Exigators.

Result: Win - Victorious slaughter

Imperial Control: Increased 18%

Learning points

• A surprisingly easy win for my Exigators. Winning first turn helped immensely as well as Gary's fumbled deployment of his webway portals. The squads who held them were far too fragile and couldn't advance deeper onto the table meaning Gary's hard-hitting close assault units had to arrive from his own board edge. I played cautiously, only advancing a couple of squads to use as bait, and in the end they did enough damage on their own to completely stall the Dark Eldar attack. My superior long range fire ensured there was no way back for the pointy-eared Kabalites.

DAEMONHUNTERS versus Chaos Daemons

Game: Warhammer 40,000 5th edition
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Daemonhunters
Points: 1500
Location: 278.M41, Mandag, Hexen Sub, Skolarii sector
Background: Chaos Daemons continue to throw themselves at the perimeter of Mandag spaceport. The Imperial defenders are unsure whether the Daemons have a masterplan or if they are simply attracted to the battle. Whatever their mysterious motivations Inquisitor Severus is determined to hold the line.


Daemonhunters with Imperial Guard allies

• Inquisitor Lord Severus, thunder hammer, bolt pistol, sacred incense, sanctuary, 3 combat servitors, 2 acolytes with power armour and bolt pistols, 2 familiars, 2 hierophants, 3 mystics
• Inquisitor Kurven, Psycannon, power armour
• Inquisitor Mabus, Incinerator
• Eversor assassin
• 6 Stormtroopers, 2 flamers, rhino
• 6 Stormtroopers, 2 melta guns, rhino
• 6 Stormtroopers, 2 plasma guns
• IG infantry platoon
• Command section, junior officer, missile launcher, 2 plasma guns
• Infantry squad, missile launcher, grenade launcher
• Infantry squad, missile launcher, grenade launcher
• Infantry squad, missile launcher, grenade launcher
• Armoured Fist squad, flamer, Chimera, multilaser, heavy bolter, heavy stubber
• Sentinel, multilaser
• Leman Russ, heavybolter
  

Chaos Daemons

• Bloodthirster
• Winged Slaaneshi Daemon Prince
• Daemon Prince
• 8 Bloodletters, Standard, Musician
• 8 Bloodletters
• 5 Bloodletters
• 7 Daemonettes
• 8 Flesh Hounds
• 8 Flesh Hounds
• 3 Flamers
• Herald of Tzeentch
• 5 Horrors, Changeling

Terrain and deployment
I got the choice of table edge and would get first turn. Like the last game we played on this table I again picked the edge with the 3 storey ruin in the centre. I put my objective on the far right flank in largely open terrain. Gary put his pretty much opposite behind a 2 storey ruin.

I deployed my IG infantry and the plasma gun stormtroopers near the objective with Severus behind and to the left. My plan was to hold my objective in force and drip feed units onto the Daemon objective to contest it.

The game
Gary took a characteristically ballsy (or stupid!) decision to slam his units hard onto my right flank. It would undoubtedly define the game; either his units would scatter off the board, onto my units or get vaped by my mystics as they arrived or they would land largely unharmed and tear me apart. The Herald of Tzeentch got lost in the warp never to be seen and I got to place the Flamers on my far left flank. I also wounded the Daemon Prince and took a Flesh Hound unit down to just two models.

Advantage Imperium.

The Horrors and Bloodthirster also landed in my lines but shrugged off all my mystic assisted firepower. The Horrors wiped out my plasma gun stormtroopers and briefly held my objective.

I got every single unit other than Inquisitor Mabus and his stormtroopers from reserve. I now had to press my advantage.


Inquisitor Kurven zoomed on and scrambled from his rhino along with his meltagun stormtroopers. The unit took two wounds from the Bloodthirster. My IG command squad took off another and then I decided to charge Severus and crew in. They tore down the monster in combat with minimal casualties.

My other IG units passed their leadership tests to target the Horrors with the Changeling and destroyed the unit. Sundry other firepower took more wounds from the Daemon prince.

My Eversor entered the board from the wrong flank but that meant he could take on the Flamers. Unsurprisingly he killed the whole unit but he was too far from the action to get involved in the rest of the battle.

My Sentinel came on from my favoured flank near the Daemon objective. It missed all of its shots at the winged DP.

I had pretty much shattered the Daemon army in just one turn. Capture and Control is a very tough mission to win, though, so I knew I had to keep fighting hard.

A squad of Bloodletters landed near my lines as the surviving Flesh hounds and winged DP moved forward. Both Daemon princes tried to charge Severus' squad but the winged DP failed his difficult terrain test (caused by my Hierophants) and fell short. The regular Daemon prince was killed before he could swing.

The Flesh Hounds killed an IG squad. They then fell to IG shooting. Severus steamed into the last few Bloodletters and killed the whole unit while Kurven took out the winged DP. My objective was clear now and all I had to do was get to the Daemon objective.


Gary brought another two Bloodletter squads and his Daemonettes down next to his objective. He also brought his second Flesh hound unit down nearby but it scattered off the table and was destroyed.

I forgot to shoot the Sentinel and it was then overwhelmed by charging Bloodletters. I shot everything I had through the windows of the buildings and caused lots of casualties but not enough to clear the objective. Meanwhile, Inquisitor Severus was running over the battlefield to reach the objective, with my Armoured Fist squad and Inquisitor Mabus zooming up in their vehicles too.

I needed the game to go to turn six so that I could reach the Daemon objective. Sure enough the game ended on turn five.

Result: Draw - DH + IG 1 objective, Chaos Daemons 1 objective

Learning points

• Gary has a tough dilemma in taking on my army; either drop into my lines and risk scattering off the table or onto my units and risk getting shot up via the mystics but be in a good position to assault or drop further away negating the mystics and co-ordinating the Daemon army but then risking more shooting as they try to contact my lines. I favour the latter while Gary favours the former. Gary feels his way is more exciting but I think it just polarises things, taking any sort of tactics out of the game. Either the Daemons are lucky and survive the initial drop then overwhelm the defenders or they get shot up and are then overwhelmed themselves. At least if Gary switched between the two approaches it would give us both a bit of variety. I think if he deep striked conservatively, using terrain to shield his units, and launched a co-ordinated assault then it could be more tactical as the Daemons would then have more control over their positions and fights. Gary thinks that this is safe and boring. I guess it's a credit to the game that it can support these different points of view.
• I'm thoroughly sick of playing the same army every week now so I'll definitely shake things up for next time.
  

IMPERIAL GUARD versus Chaos Space Marines

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Seek and Destroy
Level: Alpha
1st turn: Imperial Guard
Points: 2000
Location: Jakarth, Salazar Systems, Skolarii Sector
Background: Commissar Yarrick rushes to Jakarth following the confirmation of Chaos Space Marines on the planet. A further shock is in store though; the forces of Khorne are led by Khârn the Betrayer! This looks like the beginning of another full scale Chaos invasion of the sub-sector. Can Yarrick and Kennell get out alive to warn the Imperium?


Imperial Guard

• Command Platoon 77, Captain Kennell Heroic Senior Officer with carapace armour, refractor field and power weapon, Company Standard, Medic, Master Vox-Caster, Sanctioned Psyker, Commissar with power weapon and bolt pistol, Priest with Shotgun, Rosarius and Holy Relic
• Commissar Yarrick
• Anti tank squad 3, Lascannons
• Sentinel, Autocannon, Extra Armour, Improved Comms
• 8 Stormtroopers, Sergeant with powersword, 1 meltagun, 1 plasma gun, deep strike, infiltrate
• Infantry Platoon 1
• Command Squad 36, Junior Officer with power weapon and plasma pistol, 3 meltaguns, 2 plasma guns, Priest with Rosarius
• Infantry Squad 501, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher, Vox
• Infantry Squad 541, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher, Vox
• Command Squad, Missile Launcher
• Infantry Squad 609, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher, vox
• Infantry Squad 812, Missile Launcher and Plasma gun
• 20 Conscripts
• Armoured Fist Squad 812, Flamer, Chimera with multi-laser, Heavy Bolter, Heavy Stubber
• Sentinel, Multilaser, smoke
• Sentinel, Multilaser, searchlight
• Basilisk, Indirect fire
• Leman Russ, Heavy Bolter
  

Chaos Space Marines

• Khârn the Betrayer
• 8 Marines with Bolt pistols and Close Combat Weapons, aspiring champion with Daemonic Talons
• 8 Marines with Bolt pistols and Close Combat Weapons, aspiring champion with Daemonic Talons
• Mutated hull predator with hull heavy bolters and twin-linked lascannon
• 7 Marines with 1 lascannon
• 5 Havocs with 4 missile launchers
• Dreadnought with Lascannons
• 8 Bloodletters
• 8 Fleshounds
• 8 Khorne Berzerkers, Aspiring champion with powerfist
• 8 Marines, lascannon and plasma gun
• 4 bikers

Background
We played this game right after our combat patrol mission. Gary was keen to play a full 2000 point game and not mess around with piddly little encounters, and I reluctantly agreed. I was hesitant because I knew we still hadn't got many games under our belt with the new rules, and also because I had to make heavy modifications to my army list to bring it up from 1500 to 2000 points.

Normally I would add Daemonhunters allies but I only had the Imperial Guardsmen in my case, so all I could do was add priests, a psyker, a Commissar and loads of wargear, something I would never normally do. Ho hum.

Terrain and Deployment
While I changed my list Gary put the board together (normally this is my job). This was to have some interesting ramifications later on.

We had the palm trees and Oasis strung across the middle of the board with dunes around and about. We both had a bunker in our deployment zones, on each flank. I set up with my Basilisk behind the bunker with my lascannons in it. The Chimera and Leman Russ covered the Bassie's flank.

The heavily defended right flank

This little firebase was opposed by the Predator, the 5 man squad with lascannon and the bikes.

The Chaos army uses the terrain to avoid early casualties

In the centre I had the bulk of my infantry and two Sentinels facing the palm tree 'forest', with the conscripts front and forward. Gary had his two Chaos Marine units hidden behind this wood.

The Imperial Guard centre

On the left I had an infantry squad on a dune and Captain Kennell's squad behind it, along with Yarrick. They were well placed for a dash to the left or centre for a counter charge, I thought.

The Guard left flank - Yarrick can be seen on the extreme right lying on the dune

Opposite my Guard, the Chaos army arrayed the Khorne Berzerkers with Khârn, the Havocs in the Bunker and the Defiler behind the bunker.

The main Chaos firebase with Havocs on the bunker and the Defiler behind

Turn 1
I won first turn and took it, hoping to cause some damage before the enemy could respond.

I had an absolutely abysmal turn.

My Sentinel autocannon and a missile launcher failed to hurt the Defiler (in fact I missed with all 5 of my missile launcher shots this turn). I fired my multilaser Sentinels at the Havocs but they remained unharmed.

The Conscripts and Stormtroopers rush forward under covering fire

My Russ took out two members of Khârn's Berzerker squad in a spectacular cross-table shot. On the right I killed four models in the Marine squad, leaving the lone lascannon. My Basilisk targeted the Defiler but only scraped its paintwork.

The thin green line

Gary shot the Defiler back at the Basilisk and destroyed it, taking a lascannon out of my anti-tank squad at the same time. He raced his bikes 24" forward and both his Marine units on foot raged a full 6" into the wood, putting them in a good position to assault, and/or summon daemons next turn. His Havocs destroyed the Chimera and reduced the Armoured Fist squad to four models.

The Chimera is destroyed as the Chaos bikers race forward

Turn 2
I began my second turn in much the same way as I left the first. Four missile launcher shots missed (that's 9 in a row!) and then the fifth was saved by a biker.

Khârn's bodyguards are all but slaughtered

My two priority targets this turn were the Berzerkers on my left, with Khârn in tow, and the bikes. Both units had icons in very advanced positions and I needed to take them out. I killed every one of the Berzerkers except the Icon bearer, despite forcing multiple 'torrent of fire' tests. Two bikes remained after massed Imperial Guard fire. Oh dear.

The Flesh Hounds land right on the board edge

Khârn butchers the Stormtroopers

Both Daemon units arrived and for a moment I thought I had some good fortune. They both scattered; the Bloodletters off the bikes into one of my units, and the Fleshounds off the Berzerkers and onto the edge of the board. After some frantic flipping through the new rulebook we decided that the Bloodletters weren't destroyed as their summoning rules don't mention deep strike and part of the template was available to set up six models.

The Bloodletters are summoned deep into the Guard lines

The Fleshounds were even more controversial.

I had strung my Stormtroopers out in a thin picket line in front of the Berzerkers just in case the Daemons arrived here. My reasoning was that the Daemons would have to assault the Stormtroopers as they wouldn't have the movement to run around them towards the middle of the battlefield and hit my units behind. The Stormtroopers left flank was covered by the table edge.

The Fleshounds, though, scattered half off the board edge on the left and Gary wanted to move them in a thin column down the board edge. It turned out that what I thought was the edge of the board was just a ridge caused by the desert mat rutting up where it had been folded, and the actual board edge was a couple of inches beyond that. After some discussion I let Gary go ahead with the move.

I was doomed.

The Flesh Hounds slip past the Stormtroopers to attack the Infantry behind

The pinned Command Section (right) look on helplessly

The Hounds rip the Guardsmen apart and hunt for their next prey

His Defiler hit my Command squad behind the dune and despite having 10 leadership I failed my pinning check. That meant I had no counter attack to throw at the Flesh hounds as they hit an infantry squad on my left.

Khârn finished off the Stormtroopers, while in the centre both of Gary's Marine squads raged again and assaulted the conscripts, wiping them out and running them down. The Bloodletters also charged an Infantry squad, right in the heart of my lines, killing them all and then consolidating into another squad.

Khorne Berzerkers crash into the Guard front line

The rest of the game consisted of me trying ever more risky moves to try and stay in the game only to fail miserably. The Daemons pretty much did for all of the infantry squads over the course of the game then they in turn were killed by the dregs of Kennell's command section. They were subject to several more bombardments during the game (both indirect and direct) and they were eventually killed.

The Bloodletters slaughter one squad and move on to another

The entire Guard centre is annihilated

The Flesh Hounds tear down a Sentinel next

The forces of Chaos mow down all who stand before them

Khârn takes on the last Sentinel in combat

Only two more things stood out for me in the game. Yarrick took on a full Marine squad and destroyed it single handedly, and I threw a Sentinel into combat with Khârn and it held him up for the rest of the game.

It was far too little, far too late, though. Gary ran out a very comfortable winner.

The final Infantry squad dies bravely defending Yarrick

Yarrick defiantly retakes the dune but more Berzerkers are on the way...

Yarrick goes down fighting

Result: Loss - Crushing defeat

Imperial Control: Reduced 54%

Kennell's Commendation: The Sentinel driver who 'danced' with Khârn for several turns and kept him away from the rest of my army.

Learning points

• My defeat here had nothing to do with my army list really, it was due to having two extremely poor turns at the start of the game. Because we play such polarised armies the early part of our games are crucial to each army. If I roll well or Gary rolls poorly then he doesn't make it into combat and goes down to my superior firepower. Conversely, if the roles are reversed then his army makes it into combat relatively unscathed and chops my Guardsmen into tiny little pieces. This time the dice fell heavily in Gary's favour and he took full advantage of it.
• I must try and keep my Guardsmen over 6" apart to stop consolidation by close combat opponents. This means I'll need to bunch my models together, which is dangerous against template weapons, but the trade off will probably be worth it. I'll try it out in future games.
• That table edge dispute was a real killer for me, making a mockery of my battle plan. Oh well, at least it is extremely unlikely to happen again.
  

IMPERIAL GUARD versus Chaos Space Marines

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Combat Patrol
1st turn: Imperial Guard
Points: 400
Location: Jakarth, Salazar Systems, Skolarii Sector
Background: Following the loss of Luzon, Captain Kennell orders combat patrols across neighbouring planets. Upon the seemingly uninhabited world of Jakarth, combat patrol 005 runs into some uninvited guests...


Imperial Guard

• Sentinel Autocannon
• Sentinel Multilaser
• Sentinel Multilaser
• 8 Stormtroopers, Sergeant with powersword, 1 meltagun, 1 plasmagun
• Armoured Fist Squad 812, Flamer, Chimera with multi-laser, Heavy Bolter, Heavy Stubber
  

Chaos Space Marines

• 8 Khorne Berzerkers, Aspiring Champion with Powerfist
• 8 Khorne Berzerkers, Aspiring Champion with Daemonic Talons

Background
Gary and I set aside a full day to play games of 40k using the new edition. We began small by playing a combat patrol. I went for what I thought would be a 'fluffy' patrol, including both an armoured fist squad and all my sentinels. Some Stormtroopers rounded out my choices.

Gary simply took two troop choices from his regular list (without knowing what he would be up against) and had two units on foot, tooled up for close assault. He knew he would have a tough time of it.

Terrain and Deployment
We played this game at Gary's home. As he had no terrain, I brought my desert board set up replete with sand dunes, oasis and palm trees. We used everything we had to clutter the table, to try and let Gary have more of a chance.

The view from the right flank...

I set up with a Sentinel on the right, one on the left and one centrally. The Armoured Fists and Stormtroopers also began centrally, behind a sand dune. Both Chaos squads started in the middle, hoping to use the palm trees and dune to shield their numbers.

...and the view from the left

The Game
I won first turn and pushed the flank Sentinels forward while my Stormtroopers crested the dune. The Chimera pulled right and offed a Berzerker with it's heavy Bolter. Gary ran both squads forward, one straight through the trees toward the Chimera, the other to my left to trap the Sentinel.

Khorne Berzerkers at 12 o'clock!

Now all of my Sentinels could see their targets, as well as the Chimera and I managed to kill five of the squad picking their way through the palms. The other Berzerkers assaulted the Sentinel but were held up for several turns until they destroyed it.

The Sentinel runs out of room at the edge of the board

Daemonic Talons make short work of the Sentinel

The Berzerkers leave the burning wreck behind as they search for their next target

My Stormtroopers ran down the dune to rapid fire the Marines, only to fluff all of their dice and kill none of them. They paid for their poor shooting by being assaulted and run down, although they did manage to take two Marines down with them.

'Come in, come in, reinforcements required!'

The last Berzerker was then left stranded while two Sentinels, the Chimera and the Armoured Fist squad hosed him with fire, killing him.

'Front rank fire, second rank fire!'

Now the second Berzerker squad was free and they achieved combat with another Sentinel.

Snip, snip

They destroyed it quickly but the game came to a close with the Imperial Guard clear winners.

The Chaos Space Marine survivors are defiant

Result: Win - Solid Victory

Imperial Control: Increased 9%

Kennell's Commendation: The Armoured Fist squad who delivered the coup de grâce.

Learning points

• This was a classic case of rock/paper/scissors army selection where I had won as soon as our army lists were revealed. I felt a bit bad because I'd rather win due to my tactical acumen, than by choosing a 'cheesy' list, but on the other hand I also thought I'd picked a 'fluffy' army. Can an army list be both 'cheesy' and 'fluffy'?
• Having said all that, I felt that Gary gave up before we began and never really tried during the game. He only perked up when he wiped out the Stormtroopers but by then it was too little too late.